Patriots activate DL Jermaine Cunningham

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots activated DL Jermaine Cunningham to the 53-man roster and signed WR Kamar Aiken and DB Malcolm Williams to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. In addition, the team released DL Ron Brace.

Cunningham, 24, has played in 11 games with three starts in 2012 and has 24 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries. He originally joined the Patriots as a second round (53rd overall) draft pick out of Florida in 2010.

Aiken, 23, was signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Dec. 22 and saw action in the win at Jacksonville on Dec. 23. He was released on Dec. 24 and signed back to the practice squad on Dec. 26. Aiken first joined the Patriots practice squad on Nov. 19. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Buffalo out of Central Florida in 2011. The 6-foot-2, 213-pounder began his rookie season on the Buffalo practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster in November. Aiken was released by Buffalo after training camp this past summer and spent time on the practice squads of both Buffalo and Chicago this season.

Williams, 24, was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad on Oct. 27, 2012 and played as a reserve in the win at St. Louis (10/28). He was released by the Patriots on Nov. 17 and signed back to the practice squad on Nov. 20. Williams was signed to the New England practice squad on Sept. 1, 2012 after being released following training camp on Aug. 31, 2012. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder was originally drafted by New England in the seventh round (219th overall) out of Texas Christian in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was released by the Patriots at the end of his first training camp before being signed to the practice squad in November. Williams rotated between the practice squad and 53-man roster after being re-signed and played in two regular season games and all three postseason games, including Super Bowl XLVI, mostly on special teams.

Brace, 26, was originally drafted by New England in the second round (40th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft out of Boston College. The 6-foot-3, 330-pounder played in 10 games in 2012 for the Patriots and was inactive for five games with two total tackles. He has played in 39 NFL games with seven starts and has accumulated 42 total tackles.